


he grows on ya, a bit like a fungus

by frozensight



Series: somethin' good, somethin' bad, bit of both [2]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 15:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8495206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozensight/pseuds/frozensight
Summary: There are only a few things in life that Billy feels he's owed: the freedom to love and marry who he chooses; $35 from Faraday for the last internet/cable bill; and most of all, an apology from Sam Chisolm.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i hate that i'm splitting my time between thinking about this verse and my original story nano, but honestly, i just can't help it.
> 
> as to avoid confusion mid-read: in the previous fic, faraday called billy's cat "Koko" and in this one, billy refers to the cat as "Gogo". i assure you they are one and the same cat. a friend of a friend (villakulla) passed it along that Ks and Gs sound very similar in korean, and suggested that billy call his cat "Gogo" short for cat in korean, "goyang-i/고양이" (according to good ole google translate). this means, however, that faraday would likely interpret the cat's name to be "Koko" and billy just got tired of correcting him.
> 
> td;lr, if faraday's saying/hearing the cat's name, it'll be Koko, but if it's billy, it'll be Gogo.

"It'll be for say, two months or so," Sam says that day at lunch, "Just until he can save up enough to get back out on his own."

Billy distinctly remembers leveling Sam with a discerning look before he asks, "Why are you going through all this trouble for a parolee, Sam? Haven't you ever heard that you aren't supposed to bring your work home with you?"

Sam smiles, poking at what remains of his food with his fork as he replies, "I could ask the same about you and Goodie."

"That's different."

Eyebrow raising, Sam leans back in his seat, as calm as ever. "I fail to see how a bodyguard falling in love with his client _doesn't_ qualify."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm not his bodyguard anymore."

"You still work for him."

"Only technically."

Sam snorts. "I didn't ask you here to debate the ethics of you and Goodie dating, Billy."

"No, you just asked me here to see if you could foist one of your parolees on me."

"Now, I'm only asking because Goodie mentioned to me the other day that you were looking for a roommate." Sam shrugs, his eyes on his hands, which are folded in his lap. "So I figured, why can't one friend help another and vice versa?"

Billy sighs. With a hand pinching the bridge of his nose, he mutters, "When can he move in?"

Grinning, Sam says, "I'm glad to hear that," before he asks for Billy's address and the day that will work best for him.

———

Faraday moves in a few days later, carrying nothing but a duffel bag full of clothes and a deck of cards.

Sam introduces them, a grin on his face as he stands between them. "Faraday, meet my friend Billy Rocks. Billy, meet Josh Faraday."

Billy knows from the way Faraday smiles as they shake hands that things won't work out, but Sam hardly ever asks anything of Billy, usually preferring to ask Goodie, who he's known for years more. Besides, he has needed a roommate, and now he can take his ad out of the paper. At least for now, anyway.

"I'm sure the two of you will get along just fine," adds Sam cheerfully.

———

It's not that Billy hates Faraday because he doesn't--not really. Sure, he hates things _about_ him, things that he _does_ , but he can say the same about anyone.

No, Billy dislikes Faraday. He finds him irritating, like an itch in the middle of his back that he can't quite reach, and he regrets letting him cross the threshold into his apartment on a near daily basis.

"I feel like you're exaggeratin', Billy," Goodie says to him one morning as they lay in bed, the sun peeking in through the blinds, "He's not that bad. I've never had even a semblance of a problem with the boy."

Billy huffs. "That's because you like that he lets you buy him things as the two of you argue about your favorite whiskey brands."

Goodie sniffs. "Well, I certainly can't approve of the boy's taste, but he has time to mature yet. Regardless, I fail to see the issue here. Joshua is an upstanding citizen."

"He was literally arrested for running a gambling den out of his cousin's garage, and is now on parole after being in jail for six months."

With a shrug, Goodie waves a hand in the air as if he's trying to dismiss the very thought. "Peanuts compared to what it could be, really. There are surely people with worse records in my employ at this moment, are there not?" When Billy doesn't respond, Goodie grins and presses a kiss to the side of Billy's head before he gets out of the bed and slips into a robe--the initials GR monogrammed on the back. "Give Joshua a chance, Billy. Perhaps he will surprise you."

Billy doubts it, but he's too busy watching Goodie walk out of the bedroom to say it out loud.

———

At least, Billy thinks, it doesn't take as long as he feared it would for Faraday to get a job. In fact, it's almost a little weird how quickly he _does_.

"They hired you." Faraday nods. "Just like that?"

Faraday shrugs as he goes about making himself a peanut butter and banana sandwich. He takes a bite of it and then, mouth full, responds, "Yup, just like that."

Billy frowns. "Did you tell them that you're on parole?"

He nods again, swallowing before saying, "They said I wouldn't be allowed to work the registers, on account of the gamblin', but they must've figured if I was good at swindlin' people outta their money, then I'd make a good sales rep."

"Which Target is this?"

Mid-chew, Faraday mumbles, "The one off Kirby Park."

Billy makes a mental note to never go to that location again, even though it does happen to be the closest one to the apartment.

———

They call maintenance a total of five times in the first two weeks Faraday lives at the apartment--compared to the three total during the past year.

"I swear to God that it was like this when I came home," says Faraday, standing in the kitchen, smelly food scraps strewn all over him, the floor, the _ceiling_. Billy looks between him and the sink, which is _smoking_ , and counts backwards from twenty.

Make that six.

———

"So how's Faraday fitting in?" asks Sam when he meets Billy and Goodie for lunch downtown one Thursday. It's been about a month since Faraday moved in, and Billy's beginning to think he needs to stop counting down the days until Faraday’s supposed to move out.

"The boy's doing just fine," says Goodie with a wide smile. He's got one arm around the back of Billy's chair, his thumb rubbing circles on Billy's shoulder. "Why, I've been considering adding him to my phone plan so that he can get rid of that pitiful thing he calls a cell phone."

"Really?" Sam looks from Goodie to Billy, knowing full and well how Billy feels regarding Faraday, having witnessed it first hand during some of his weekly visits to check in on Faraday. "And you're okay with that, Billy?"

Billy sighs, leaning back into his chair; Goodie gets the hint, and his arm slips off the chair and onto his shoulders proper. "It's his phone plan to do with as he pleases. It's not my place to tell him who he can or can't add to it."

Grinning, Sam persists, "But you hate the very idea, don't you?"

"Words cannot express how bad of an idea I think it is."

Goodie rolls his eyes, shaking his head a little as he says, "Honestly, Billy, the worst that can happen is that he finds a way to drive the bill up, and we both know that it won't _actually_ be a problem."

"Just because you have the money, Goodie, doesn't mean you should find a reason to spend it."

Sam makes a noise, and both Goodie and Billy look at him. Waving them away, Sam says, "Don't mind me. I just figured out something that's been bothering me is all."

Billy narrows his eyes at him before turning his head to meet Goodie's. "All I'm saying, is that he went to jail for a reason. I think you should remember that more."

"I appreciate your foresight, as always, Billy," concedes Goodie with a nod. Then his smile gets a little crooked. "I do, however, feel as though I need to remind _you_ that I've had to pay your bail before--at least two notable times spring to mind."

"Well _I_ recall one time in Monte Carlo where we were _both_ waiting for someone to bail us out."

"And what a weekend that was!" Goodie, resting an elbow on the table, points a hand towards Sam and says, "If you ever get arrested abroad, Sam, by God, you simply must do it in Monaco. The cell had the most wonderful ocean view, and I daresay it was better than the one from our hotel room!"

"I'll keep that in mind, Goodie," says Sam, his hand only managing to cover half of his grin. "But besides impending cell phone changes, I suppose what I want to know is if you think he's actually putting forth as much effort into getting back out there as he proclaims."

Briefly, Billy wonders what the real story between Sam and Faraday is--why he's helping a deadbeat like Faraday when he must see dozens of them a week--but in the end, all he can say, begrudgingly, is the truth. "Yes, I think he is."

Sam smiles as he takes a sip of his drink. "I'm glad to hear that."

———

The next night, Billy wakes up to the sound of Faraday having sex.

“We could try to show them how it’s really done,” mumbles Goodie into Billy’s bare shoulder, his arms pulling Billy in closer as the moans from the other room proceed to get louder.

Billy snorts, rolling over into Goodie’s arms. “I don’t think I can get it up with that as background noise.”

“That’s a damn shame, now isn’t it?” Goodie presses a kiss to Billy’s chin. “Because here I was wondering if perhaps the sound of us could get them to stop.”

Smiling fondly, Billy catches Goodie’s lips with his and says, “I can perhaps be convinced.”

“I’ve been told by many a person that I can be _quite_ convincing.”

———

Billy doesn’t actually care that Faraday brought someone home. In the end, he doesn’t even care that Faraday woke him up with it because Goodie was, after all, quite convincing.

However, that doesn’t stop Billy from feeling a little smug when he finds out, while pretending to be angry, that Gogo scratched Faraday.

“You know,” starts Goodie as they sit on the couch eating breakfast; he’s pointing his fork at Billy, “that boy is gonna think you hate him if you keep this up.”

“Who’s to say I don’t?”

“Me, for starters,” Goodie snorts, “Honestly, Billy, why is Joshua still here if you truly hate him?”

He shrugs. “I need a roommate.”

Goodie rolls his eyes. “You do not need a roommate; you just refuse to let me help pay rent.”

“I’m doing it as a favor for Sam, then.”

“We both know that Sam wouldn’t force you to keep Joshua as a roommate if you genuinely didn’t like him being here. He’s a stern man, but he’s far from cruel.”

Billy falls silent, and they both know that Goodie’s made his point.

“You have to admit,” says Billy, leaning back into the couch and into Goodie’s side, “it’s a lot more fun having him think I don’t like him than if he knew I didn’t really mind him.”

Goodie laughs, smile wide on his face. Billy focuses on the way Goodie’s chest shakes with it, and rests his head on Goodie's shoulder as they watch TV.

———

The following week, four things happen.

First, Goodie takes Faraday to the cell phone store. He adds him to his phone plan as promised, and gets him one of the newest iPhones. Faraday celebrates by opening a group iMessage between him, Goodie, and Billy and sending a photo of a sign from his work that says ‘Beware of Cat’ with the caption ‘we need this for the apt’ over it.

“We really do,” says Goodie when he sees it. Billy scoffs as he pets Gogo, who’s curled up, purring, on his lap.

Second, Faraday’s new phone falls into the toilet precisely three days after getting it. He blames it on Gogo, but Billy doesn’t believe him. Gogo is terrified of bathrooms, and won’t even go into the bathroom when Billy’s in there.

“She does have a vendetta against Joshua,” says Goodie, quickly adding when Billy glares, “However, I doubt her vendetta outweighs that fear.”

Third, upon getting his new _new_ iPhone, Faraday christens it with another group iMessage, but this time it’s just a selfie of him outside the apartment, giving a thumbs up as he showcases the new ‘Beware of Cat’ sign hanging on the door behind him.

“Perfection,” says Goodie, chuckling. Billy can’t help but smile and silently agree.

Fourth, Billy asks the landlord to print out a new lease so he can add Faraday to it. It’s more formality than anything, considering Faraday doesn’t make near enough to pay even half the rent, but it’s Billy’s equivalent of adding him to a phone plan. Faraday spends a whole ten minutes thinking that it's an elaborate prank before Goodie laughs and tells him to get on with it. Grinning widely, Faraday signs his name on the new lease.

“Does this mean I can eat your food without asking permission?” asks Faraday as Billy slips the lease into a folder to be given back to their landlord.

“You should always ask before eating another person’s food, Faraday.”

“Goodie doesn’t.”

“Goodie _also_ replaces the food when he does, so it’s a moot point.”

“So what you’re saying is that if I replace it before you notice, I’m golden?”

Billy sighs. “As long as it’s the same brand and flavor, sure.”

Faraday frowns for a moment, clearly calculating something in his head before he murmurs, “I owe you a lot of brown sugar oatmeal.”

———

“So Faraday tells me you decided to add him to the lease.” It’s another lunch with Sam, but this time it’s just Billy. Goodie had a meeting to attend that he couldn't avoid.

Billy lays the menu down on the table, already knowing what he wants, and meets Sam’s eyes with an enigmatic grin. “I’m just helping out a friend.”

Sam laughs, smiling. "I'm glad to hear that."

**Author's Note:**

> i'd just like to say that i don't know if faraday would really get a job that easily at target, i just know that our dear joshua is a charming asshole, who probably sweet-talked his way through the whole interview. (really, i just wanted him to work retail hell for the time being.)
> 
> gogo is loosely based off my own black cat, ender, who is a doofus and scared of bathrooms and will not go in if he can tell you're gonna shut the door with him inside. anytime i have tried, without his consent, he yowls like the dickens and it's both hilarious and very, very sad. (he also just doesn't seem to understand how doors work like most cats do, and will cry at a door even if it's open an inch cuz he doesn't want to touch it and widen the gap himself.)
> 
> as for vasquez, he's busy, but should, in theory, show up next time!
> 
> and thanks to everyone who's commented/kudos'd/read flip it on it's head!! i love and appreciate y'all so very much.


End file.
